After losing two games in Washington, the Atlanta Hawks returned home and dominated the Wizards in Game 3 with stellar defense and all-around team play. Paul Millsap, who has been taking his matchup against Markieff Morris personally, had his best game of the series with 29 points, 14 rebounds and five assists on 12-of-20 shooting. Dennis Schroder played exceptionally well, too, adding 27 points and nine assists. With another game at home, the Hawks will look to even the series at two.
John Wall’s supporting cast
In Game 3, John Wall’s supporting cast seemingly disappeared, as Bradley Beal struggled, going 6-of-20 for 12 points.
In fact, Wall was 10-of-12, 83 percent, from the field, while the rest of the team was 27-of-77, 35 percent, from the field. Wall needs his teammates to show up in Game 4. Otherwise, they will be staring at a 2-2 series.
Obviously, Wall is the orchestrator of the team’s offense, so he needs to make sure he gets his teammates involved early and finds open looks for them. Maybe the Wizards need to utilized the high screen and roll with Marcin Gortat a lot more in Game 4. Wall can also use his speed to penetrate and kick it out to his shooters, but his teammates must be ready to step up and hit those good looks.
Atlanta’s role players
While Washington’s role players were a no-show in Game 3, Atlanta’s role players were extremely effective.
Rookie Taurean Prince poured in 16 points and four assists, while Tim Hardaway Jr., Kent Bazemore, and Mike Dunleavy had eight points apiece. Those guys must continue to play with consistency to help Millsap and Schroder get another victory.
Speaking of role players, Dwight Howard has literally become one. The All-Star big man had just five points on four shots.
The Hawks need to utilize him down low a lot more to open up their offense. With shooters surrounding Howard, they should consider playing inside-out especially in half-court sets. If they are not going to utilize Howard down low, they should at least put him in pick and rolls and throw some alley-oops to the big man. It’s disappointing to see him completely diminished on the offensive end.
Washington’s bench
The Wizards were active at the trade deadline to upgrade their bench, which they did. In Game 3, the bench was actually solid, and they must continue to perform well for the Wizards to attain a road win. Bojan Bogdanovic had a rough shooting night but still contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. Brandon Jennings was the game changer, though. He had 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, providing an instant spark in the second half. However, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Jason Smith were absolutely atrocious. The two combined for 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting and both fouled out. On the road, the Wizards need their entire second unit to play at a high level.
Game 4 will be televised on TNT at 8 pm Eastern Time at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. It should be another physical battle.
